FIFTEEN
Splice
“Take your boots off, please.” Ever since he opened the truck door for her, holding a hand over her head so she didn’t knock it, she wouldn’t look Splice in the eye. “You can put your jacket on the hook over there.”
Had he flustered her? Hmm. He liked that.
Splice did as directed, leaving his boots lined up against her white-and-blue Vans, then followed Lisa into the kitchen.
She had a swanky-looking house, and it smelled exactly like her.
A scent he wanted to sniff from the source by pressing his nose into her neck, but he reckoned he might get a gut punch from her smaller fist if he tried it right now.
But the need for it was strong as Splice’s gaze ate up every inch of Lisa’s curvy frame as he traced her steps. He took his fill of the way her breasts pushed against the simple t-shirt hugging her body.
Goddess.
Lisa was a woman everyone took a second look at because of her beauty.
He remembered being insanely jealous when other guys tried to hit on her. But he liked to believe he’d wised up with age, and his first reaction now wouldn’t be to slice and dice any bastard for appreciating her gorgeous face.
That would be Plan B.
“I think I need to shower the hospital smell off my skin.” She announced, and Splice’s head dropped on his neck, feeling a pulse of heat in his stomach.
Together? Yeah, he could be up for that. Hand him the soap. But that was a dream for a dirty biker bastard, wasn’t it?
“Go ahead, sweetheart. I’m gonna have a look in your fridge to see what I can rustle up for you.”
“Do you really cook, or will you burn my kitchen down?”
He laughed lightly and pulled open the fridge door. It was well-stocked with fresh produce. Not a pre-packaged anything to see.
“I do alright; I promise your kitchen will be fine.”
“Hmm.” That was all she said, eyeing him speculatively.
“Can I poke around down here?”
Lisa raised her brow, and Splice felt his gut get warm from that simple, authoritarian look. On the surface, she was sweet, but he’d been fortunate enough to see her take-charge attitude, which remained the sexiest thing he’d ever encountered.
“What does that mean? Do you want to root around in the cabinets?”
Amused, his lips twitched, holding her gaze. “Are you hiding something?”
“Yes,” she replied without missing a beat, adding, “drugs and gigolos.”
Funny little girl. “Head for that shower, sweetheart, I’ll kick out the gigolos.”
He caught her snort-laugh while she walked down the hall, quietly taking the stairs.
Step one. He’d gotten through her front door.
Sifting through all the information he’d ever memorized about Lisa, Splice knew she was more pliable when she wasn’t hungry, so his next step was to feed her. He pulled out eggs, ham, cheese, and green onions from the fridge and assembled them on the center island.
A hot ham and green onion omelet was waiting for her when she returned in fresh sweatpants and a casual hoodie, open to show she was wearing a pink t-shirt that said, “I do it for the K-Drama.”
She looked between him and the plated food. “That looks good. And my kitchen still stands. I didn’t even hear the smoke alarm going off.” She teased with a tipped smile on her lips.
“Look who has jokes. I even washed the pan,” Splice jutted his chin.
“Are you looking for a new job? I can pay you seven dollars an hour to be my butler.”
“Done. I’ll hand my notice in with Axel in the morning.”
“Now, who is the one with the jokes?” Lisa casually took a seat on the stool. Splice was pouring apple juice he’d grabbed from the fridge. He brought it over to Lisa and made sure she was looking at him before he replied.
“Not joking. Say the word, sweetheart.”
Oh, that red blush was so fucking sexy, he nearly licked his lips, aching to taste the warmth, but he acted like a normal guy and not one with the most deviant thoughts floating in front of his eyes. He took the tall stool opposite her.
After the first bite of food, Lisa groaned. And instead of the compliment he thought she’d give him, she said, “I have a bone to pick with you, Ryan Gold.”
“What did I do? Whatever it is, I’m probably innocent; I just have a guilty-looking face.”
“Your face looks guilty because you did it.” Another forkful of food went into her mouth, and something stirred through Splice’s gray matter.
He could not be jealous of a fork. That was a new low for him, but his eyes were glued to her mouth, watching the delicate morsels she directed through her pink lips.
“I had to tell Nina how we knew each other today, in the hospital, of all places, because of how you were staring at me. She noticed and wanted to know what it was about.”
A smirk twitched up his lips. Putting an elbow on the island, he leaned closer. “Did you tell her all the scandalous details?”
Fuck him, she had! Look at that hot blush lighting up her face. He’d bet his house Nina knew exactly how close he and Lisa had gotten.
“Of course not,” she denied, avoiding his eyes.
“I don’t mind if you do.”
“You shouldn’t have been staring at me at all.” She gave a sexy little huff, pretending she was mad at him. Was she? He could go along with that.
“It was staring at you or Axel. And you’re prettier.”
Lisa snorted, setting the fork aside now that she’d finished eating. “Hardly.”
Jealousy came swiftly without an invitation, punching him square in the torso. Did she find Axel attractive?
Splice’s list now included firebombing Primo’s apartment and kicking Axel in his pretty fucking face.
Great. Terrific. He’d have no brothers-in-arms left at this rate.
Splice decided the only course was to never have Lisa around any of his club brothers again.
Lisa didn’t know Splice had eavesdropped on her and Nina that night, so he was in a privileged position to tease her about the details. “Was Nina surprised about how you seduced me out of my jeans?”
Lisa’s head whipped up, and her almond-shaped eyes enlarged so comically he swallowed his laughter.
“I think you’re rewriting history. And I didn’t disclose the details to Nina.”
Not today, Splice added silently. But that drunken night, Lisa had spilled it all about her younger fling.
“I can fill her in. I don’t mind.” He dared to say, and her eyes flared across the marble island at him. Splice was practically licking the inside of his teeth because of how gorgeous she was.
“You dare, Ryan!”
Oh, she was right in his hands now. He loved it. Drumming his fingers deliberately in front of her, so her eyes dropped to watch, because she used to love playing with his veiny hands and arms, he wanted to remind her of that.
“I think I need some incentive not to run my mouth with all the filthy details about when you’d tie me to...”
“Ryan!” She hurled a cloth napkin at him, and he caught it easily.
“I’m easily bought, sweetheart. Try me.”
“Fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll buy you a coffee next time I see you.”
“No deal.”
She blinked. “Why the hell not?”
“Because you’ll avoid seeing me if I agree, so you don’t have to pay up.
I said I’m easy, sweetheart, not dumb.” Splice smirked, drumming his fingers to catch her attention, and sure enough, Lisa’s eyes followed them.
He hoped she was remembering the nights after all the intense sex, how she’d play with his fingers while they recovered.
It felt like they were in their own little world back then, a world he never wanted to leave.
“I won’t ask what you want because you’ll ask for too much.”
Too right he would. But he’d play nice.
“Let me drop in for dinner. I’ll cook; I’ll even bring the groceries.”
She frowned, skeptical. “How is that an incentive for you?”
“I get to spend time with you.”
“Oh. That’s not...”
“Not? Not a good idea? It was my second choice, sweetheart. Should I ask for my first?”
“No. No, dinner is fine. You can do that.” She quickly corrected herself, as if she could read his mind and what he really wanted.
After her third yawn, Splice climbed to his feet. “I’ll let you get some sleep. Come and lock this door behind me, Lisa,” he told her. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
But it wasn’t tomorrow.
Splice had only been home twenty minutes when his phone pinged.
Lisa: Did you get home okay?
Was it any wonder his dormant lust had rushed back to life when she was being a sweetheart without knowing it? Splice grunted and dragged a hand through his wet hair, crashing out on the leather chair in his den, the TV on mute, he replied.
Splice: I’m home, sweetheart. Can’t you sleep?
Lisa: I feel a bit wired after today.
Lisa: It’s not like I had to deliver the baby, but it was kind of scary and exhausting. Now my body won’t settle down.
It was on the tip of Splice’s fingers to tell her a foolproof way of relaxing her sweet-as-fuck body. It wasn’t as though she was brand new to his dirty-talking mouth, was it? Would she be shocked and tell him to get lost?
Instead of texting, he called her, and her simple “hello” pulsed a familiar beat through his chest. A familiarity that felt so right, he eased into a slow exhale.
“Are you in bed?”
“Not yet, I’m at my desk. I thought I’d tire myself scrolling through emails. What are you doing?”
“I just finished in the shower; now I’ve got a beer in front of the TV.”
“Don’t bikers do a lot of partying?”
“Sometimes.” And if he rode to the clubhouse now, there would probably be an impromptu drinking session with a few brothers. Most probably sweet bottoms hanging around, too. “But I’m exactly where I wanna be.” He shared truthfully.
“Can I ask you something, Ryan?”
“Ask away.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
How long had she been sitting on that one? He wondered with a pleased smile. Taking a pull of the beer, he licked away the foam. “Didn’t we cover this a few weeks back?”
“Did we?”
On their nightly chats, they’d decided they could each ask two questions about stuff they wanted to know about the other.
“You asked if I was involved with any of the club women. I said I wasn’t.”
“Oh, that meant, you know...”
“You know...? Elaborate, Lisa.” He smirked, knowing exactly what she meant, but he wanted her sweet tongue to sound the words out for his dirty mind to groan over.
“I meant scratching an itch. Just sex, or whatever. A girlfriend is different.”
“Do you think I’d fuck around behind a girlfriend’s back?”
He heard her stutter. “I-I don’t know, you’re brand new to me now.”
“From what you knew about me, was I a cheater?”
“No.”
“I haven’t changed all that much, sweetheart.”
“You have a beard!” she exclaimed, and Splice laughed.
“How do you feel about my beard?”
“Well, I. I. It’s fine if you like it. It’s your facial hair, after all.”
“That’s not answering.”
“You suit it.”
Making it plain, he told Lisa. “No girlfriends, wife, or hookups.”
“That’s crazy. Have you seen your face, Ryan? You must have women chasing you.” She sounded shocked, almost as if she didn’t believe what he was saying. Splice took it as a stroke to his ego that she even wanted to know. Was she making sure the way was clear for her?
He’d bulldoze a path if Lisa wanted a free road to him.
Whatever he had to do to leave an open invitation.
“It sounds like you enjoy my face.” He grunted, happy, and noticed Lisa gasping. “I like that. A fucking lot.”
“Have you had a lot of women?” She suddenly asked, but as quickly as Lisa asked it, she followed with, “Sorry, that’s none of my business. I was just curious for a second. Ignore it.”
“Lisa, do you remember what I told you on one of our first phone calls? That you could ask me whatever you wanted to know, and I’d tell you?”
“Hm.”
“I don’t spill my guts to everyone, but for you, I can be an open book, got it?” Splice let the silence build once he’d finished talking, listening to the sound of Lisa’s breath in his ear. “Do you still want to know?”
A beat went by.
And then another.
Then her voice husked. “Yes, I’d like to know.”
Was Lisa trying to gauge his sexual history before getting involved with him, a good indicator that she desired more? Was he destroying any hope once she had the answer? He had no reason to hide from her, so Splice was fine disclosing anything.
“Hey, Lisa?”
“Yes?”
“I wanna come back and do this face-to-face. Can I?”
Splice held his breath, waiting for Lisa to deny him. He wasn’t above bribing, so he added, “I’ll stop to get you a milk boba tea.”
“Oh, you know those are my one weakness!” she groaned. “Okay, come back. I’m awake, anyway.”
Leaping off the chair, he took the stairs three at a time to grab a pair of jeans. Minutes later, he was out the door. A spring in his gait to see Lisa so soon.